Podcast 2 (Created 20.11.09)

Costume, Props & Set Dressing.

Props

The picture above shows the masks that the cannibals will be wearing. I am as yet unsure whether they will be decorated (like the mask in the teaser poster) or whether I will leave them plain white. I have made these masks out of modroc, a lightweight material that the actors can wear easily. There are 4 different shapes, with 2 masks in each design. This means that there will be 8 cannibals overall (although 9 if you include the female character, who will remain unmasked.

At the start of the film I will have a shot of Chris sketching something on a small black sketchbook. it will be a small drawing of the female character to add more anchorage about what his feelings about her are. It also shows more of his artistic, shy personality.

Costume

For Chris Parks, I want to go for a typical teenage boy look. He will be wearing jeans and trainers throughout the entire film. When he sits in the school common room on his own he will be wearing a "the joker" t shirt, another link to the Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight, and foreshadowing the masks of the cannibals later on in the film. When he goes to meet the female character later on he will be wearing a casual collared shirt, as he is making more of an effort to look presentable for the girl. This clothing is typical of a teenage boy and so would suit the character perfectly.

For the female character, I would like to dress her in fashionable, black clothing, with lots of gold and black jewelry. This looks is heavily inspired by Effy from Skins. As she has been the inspiration for the character from the start of the production process I feel that dressing my character similarly would be a good idea and would help Jennifer to develop the character sufficiently. It would also link to the costume of the cannibals, as they all wear black, and I think it would add to the mysterious quality of the character.

For Sophie, the female characters friend, the costume will be more quirky and unusual. Bright colours and mismatched patterns that will most likely get odd looks is what this character would wear. She doesn't mind that she doesn't fit in because she doesn't really notice. This adds to the startling contrast between her and the main female character and more ambiguity as to why they are friends.

The cannibals will all be dressed very similarly. They will either be wearing all black or a black top and dark blue jeans. A few of them will be in black hooded tops, to signify delinquency. The dark colours (tying in with the female character) will add to the mystery and will also make them harder to see in the darkness as Chris is running away from them. They will each be wearing a mask (see above)

Intertextual Links

The Baccae - Euripides read by Ash Caton



This extract was taken from The Baccae. It is when a central characters mother and sister have just ripped him apart, but because such things could not be staged at the time The Baccae was written, Euripedes wrote a messenger's speech to describe the event. As I would be unable to show a person being ripped apart by cannibals, it is important that I look at all the different ways of implying what's happening.


The Masque of the Red Death
The Masque of the Red Death is a short story written by Edgar Allen Poe.

The story takes place at the abbey of the "happy and dauntless and sagacious" Prince Prospero. Prospero and one thousand other nobles have taken refuge in this walled abbey to escape the Red Death, a terrible plague that has swept over the land. The symptoms of the Red Death are gruesome: the victim is overcome by convulsive agony and sweats blood instead of water. The plague is said to kill within half an hour. Prospero and his court are presented as indifferent to the sufferings of the population at large, intending to await the ending of the plague in luxury and safety behind the walls of their secure refuge.

One night, Prospero holds a masquerade ball to entertain his guests in seven colored rooms of the abbey. Six of the rooms are each decorated and illuminated in a specific color: blue, purple, green, orange, white, and violet. The last room is decorated in black and is illuminated by a blood-red light; because of this chilling pair of colors, few guests are brave enough to venture into the seventh room. The room is also the location of a large ebony clock that ominously clangs at each hour. Each hour the clock clangs loudly, and everyone stops talking and the orchestra stops playing. At the chiming of midnight, Prospero notices one figure in a blood-spattered, dark robe resembling a funeral shroud, with a skull-like mask depicting a victim of the Red Death, which all at the ball have been desperate to escape. Gravely insulted, Prospero demands to know the identity of the mysterious guest so that they can hang him, and when none obey, pursues him with a drawn dagger through the seven rooms until the mysterious figure is cornered in the seventh room, the black room where the windows are tinted scarlet. When the figure turns to face him, the Prince falls dead at a glance. The enraged and terrified revelers surge into the black room and remove the mask, only to find both it and the costume empty. To the horror of all, the figure reveals itself as the personification of the Red Death itself, and all the guests suddenly contract and succumb to the disease. The final line of the story sums up: "And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

This story is relavent to my film because of the idea of concealment and mystery that's signified by the masks. Although my character isn't escaping the Red Death, he is hoping to avoid being eaten by the cannibals, and the idea of black and red as a theme could reflect the sinister and bloody climax of my film.

Location.

In my idea there are three main locations : the common room in school, a suspension bridge over the river and the woodland area close to the bridge.

The Common Room is used as a place to establish how the two central characters are relating to each other. The female character will walk through the doors and sit down across the room from Chris. This means that we can see that he is interested in her (by the way he watches her walk) but she is uninterested in him (sitting far away from him). It also allows us to establish the characters judging by where they sit in the room, how they sit etc. By sitting in the middle of a row of seats the female character can give off a dominant aura, and having Chris sitting in the corner on his own will highlight his shy nature and preference to being ignored.

The Suspension Bridge is used to be an unusual place to want to meet for a "date", as Chris thinks it is. It's not a conventional place to meet, like a cinema or a cafe, which highlights the mysterious side of the female character. There's also a sense of danger associated with old bridges, whether they'll break or not, and that will be played on by the character of Chris.


The Woodland is the main location in my film. This is where most of the action will happen. I chose to set it in a wood because it is widely seen as a sinister setting in the night-time. In one episode of Skins Series 3, there is a party in the woods in which Effy Stonem knocks another girl, Katie Fitch, unconscious, so this setting links to that. (See inter-textual links for more). I went to Middleton Woods in Ilkley to find a good location for the sequences and found a good spot, surrounded by trees. This is where I will place my cannibals. I think that the coverage of the trees will add to the sinister feel, and the flat land is a good place for the campfire to be constructed.

Casting.

I have now determind who I will have to play the three main characters in my film.

Ash Caton

Ash is an experienced actor who I have worked with on several previous films, so I know that he is capable of a good and convincing performance. He is very good at portraying different emotions and characters. He is 17 years old, and so perfect for the character of Chris Parks. He looks right for the character, being average height, good looking and he looks quite shy. I think that Ash will be able to portray Chris the right way and he was the best actor that I auditioned for the part, so I have chosen him to take the central role.

Jennifer Austin

Again, I have worked with Jennifer on previous projects and so I know the strengths and weaknesses in her acting ability. She is also 17 years old, with long, dark brown hair and pale skin. I think that this is perfect for the female characters aesthetic. I think that she will be able to be dressed up like Effy Stonem and carry off the look. I will require the character to be sultry and silent whilst still holding the audiences attention. Jennifer played a similar role in another film I produced and so I am confident that she can carry this character well.

Jess Owen

Jess is also a very experienced actor, who again I have worked with before. She is 17 years old, with blonde hair. She is a little shorter than Jennifer and this will add to the juxtaposition of the two characters. She has a naturally bubbly personality and so will be able to fit into the character well. She is very enthusiastic, and knows a lot about film making so is a valuable person to have involved in the production process.

I am confident that these three actors will be professional and will be able to portray the characters in the way needed. I am happy with my choice and believe that they are the best people to act in my film.

Teaser Poster.

I have created a teaser poster for my film using a prop that I plan to use in the footage.

As a working title I have christened my film "Masque," a name developed from "Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe. (See intertextual links for more about the text) I think that this ties in nicely with the white, decorated masks that the cannibals will be wearing (See props).

For the tagline I adapted the tagline from "Alien," In space, no one can hear you scream. I think that my tagline fits in well with the narrative of my film and provides a narrative enigma for the audience. As this is a teaser poster, I don't have to put any more writing than that.

The poster shows a hand holding one of the cannibal masks loosely by the side of the leg. This ties into The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan. When one of the central characters is first shown his back is turned to the camera and he holds his mask loosely by his side. As it was this character that originally inspired the masks in my film, I thought that incorporating him into my teaser poster was appropriate.

In the background of my poster is a picture of the Middleton Woods, which is where I plan to film the section of the film that involves the cannibals. This links the masks to the cannibals, and therefore provide anchoarge as to who is standing in the foreground.

I used Photoshop Elements 5.0 to create this poster. I decided to tint the image slightly red in order to signify death, and blood. I think that overall the poster is interesting and will entice the audience into wanting to watch the finished film.

The Hardware

Like last year, I will produce and process my work, including importing, editing and burning, on an iMac computer. Through working with them last year I am confident with this hardware and I feel I know how to use it efficiently to produce a good product. Mac computers are used by many film makers in the industry and so it will give me skills that I may require later.

For the capturing of my footage I will use a standard Sony mini DV camera (Sony DCR-HC27 Handycam Mini DV Camcorder). Again, having used this hardware last year I know that it is reliable and I can use it efficiently to get good quality footage. It is not the highest quality camera, but it is good enough for what I need to do. For further specification about this camera, go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-DCR-HC27-Handycam-Mini-Camcorder/dp/B000MK0TMM

To go with this camera I will be using a standard mini DV tape. This will allow me to import the footage, including sound, on to the computer without any fuss. It's lightweight and so is easily transportable.

Last year a common problem with all the coursework produced was the sound quality. This year we have access to a boom mic with will help greatly in reducing extraneous noise from weather, traffic and background talking. This will hopefully mean a higher quaality of sound and therefore higher quality of overall product.

In order to keep the camera steady whilst filming I will be using a standard tripod. This will give a more professional finish to the footage that I capture, and will be less distracting for the audience than if the camera was shaky.